Pesticides or Profits?

The debate about neonicotinoid (and other) pesticides used in farming continues (http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/24/insecticides-world-food-supplies-risk) with a return to some of the issues raised by Rachel Carson in her book 'The Silent Spring' decades ago. The claim is that pesticide use in farming across the globe may have seriously imperilled the pollinating insects on which food production depends (as well as even the viability of Earthworms and their actions on soil). It does seem to have become a very polarised debate with one of the criticisms of some of the research being that it was carried out under laboratory rather than field (get it!) conditions. This may be an issue (that apparently doesn't phase the same people when claiming other benefits of technology) but, at the very least, suggests there might be a problem. There used to be a principle (the precautionary principle) where people were urged to err on the side of caution rather than demanding absolute proof (this is really an abstract concept in such complex areas). The precautionary principle doesn't seem very popular in a number of environmental areas (climate change, fracking etc).